Organized Religion: Here’s a Glimpse of the World Without It

Recently, conservative convicted criminal Dinesh D’Souza came out with a movie titled America: Imagine the World Without Her (which has an amazing 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes).It’s basically nothing more than some outrageous right-wing film that rewrites history, while trying to ridiculously build a world where the United States did not exist. Eventually it just spirals into nothing more than an anti-Obama and anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda film.

But I thought I’d play off that title a bit and try to create what our world might be like without organized religion.

Though let me be clear, I see faith and religion as two different things. I see faith as a set of beliefs someone personally carries with them without trying to force others to comply to what they believe. Religion I see as a human-made concoction meant to manipulate and control people by forcing whatever views are ordained by that religion.

How many wars have been fought based on religion? Think about the Crusades. They lasted around two centuries, claiming anywhere from 1 million to 3 million lives. All in the name of religion.

Just look at Islamic terrorism. It’s almost entirely based on religion.

So by just getting rid of organized religion, the amount of wars and terrorism we’ve had throughout human history would drastically be reduced.

Look at how often religion has been used to justify horrific acts. Adolf Hitler used religion to justify his genocide of the Jewish people. Slave owners used religion to justify their ownership of other human beings. Anti-desegregation advocates used religion to justify the separation of the races.

Just think about how much prejudice and ignorance has been levied against various groups of people throughout human history all “justified” by organized religion.

Religion has been used to justify horrific acts against women. Hell, it’s 2014, and in many countries religion is still used to deny women their basic human rights. Not just deny them those rights, but to often treat them like possessions rather than actual human beings.

All over the world organized religion is used to condemn and vilify homosexuals. In some countries it’s illegal to be a homosexual, with death being an acceptable punishment for the “crime” of being gay. But it’s all okay, because religion says that it is.

Hell, religion has even been used to deny a need to address climate change. You know, because God controls the weather – not us measly humans.

Look at hate in general. Racism, bigotry, intolerance, judgement, prejudice… it’s all been justified by organized religion over and over again throughout history.

I’m sure many of you have heard about the Salem witch trials. Human beings were slaughtered all in the name of religion. These acts weren’t rational. They were driven by fear, paranoia and ignorance all fueled, and justified, by religious beliefs.

Native Americans were treated like some kind of subhuman savages because they weren’t “good Christians.” So, what’s the best way religion told us to deal with non-Christian “savages”? Try to convert some, slaughter most of the rest, all while stealing their land.

Amen!

Granted, eliminating organized religion from all human history wouldn’t have prevented every horrific act from happening. But it’s much more difficult to try to justify some of the horrors that have been committed (and continue to be committed) without religion.

For instance, how would one justify a stance against homosexuality without using religion?

Not only that, but the lack of religion would unite people. Because what religion has ultimately done throughout human history is divide them. It’s one group of human beings telling another group of human beings that the god they can’t prove exists is more real than the god the other group of people can’t prove exists is.

And if you think about it, what does religion ultimately boil down to? What happens to us after we die.

That’s it.

Why do people care so much about this? Why do people care what happens to strangers once they die? Something clearly happens… but none of us know for absolute certain. The only thing any of us know without a doubt is, we die.

Every. Single. One of us.

Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist… we’re all eventually going to die. And all religion ultimately comes down to is what happens to us afterwards.

It’s just silly, isn’t it?

Let’s slaughter thousands because they don’t believe in the same afterlife that we do! That’ll prove how holy we are!

It’s like an unfunny Monty Python sketch.

It’s not as if an individuals path to whatever afterlife in which they believe is contingent on how many people they recruit. It makes absolutely no sense to care about any of this.

Yet despite the ridiculousness of it all, organized religion remains the most widely used tool to justify human beings treating other human beings in horrific, inhumane ways.

Just imagine the world without organized religion:

We wouldn’t have countries where millions of human beings are controlled, with basic human rights stripped away, by brutal theocracies.

A world where terrorists no longer had their primary tool they’ve used to wage horrific acts of terror against innocent people.

Where human beings weren’t judged on rules written in a book, based on an entity that nobody can prove exists.

A world where war was never waged simply because one group of people labeled themselves a different religion than another.

Where people had to think for themselves as opposed to simply being told what to believe by somebody else.

Denying anyone their equal rights could only be justified by pure hate and intolerance, which are much harder foundations on which to build an argument against giving someone their rights.

Women wouldn’t continue to be having to overcome draconian societal laws and rules that religion has dictated about their role in society for centuries.

People wouldn’t be divided simply based on a label.

All the horrors that have been (and continue to be) justified in the name of religion – would have never existed.

Allen Clifton is from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has a degree in Political Science. He is a co-founder of Forward Progressives, and author of the popular Right Off A Cliff column. He is also the founder of the Right Off A Cliff facebook page, on which he routinely voices his opinions and stirs the pot for the Progressive movement. Follow Allen on Twitter as well, @Allen_Clifton.

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Comments

This comes under the heading of nit-picking, because I am in agreement with theme and the substance of these comments. However, no one was burned alive as a result of the Salem witch trials. Except for one person who was pressed to death during his ‘examination,’ the rest of those found guilty (13 women and 6 men) were hanged. (Another 20 or so died in prison under appalling conditions.) Burning at the stake was deemed too cruel a punishment for God’s Elect to inflict on their fellow man. I’ve always suspected that the fact that the Inquisition employed burning was the real reason; Protestant Massachusetts would not have wanted anything in common with Catholic Spain.

Jonas

The problem is that religion doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is made up of humans. Religion is not some evil entity that happens to make people bend to its will. People use it as an excuse to express both the worst and the best of their human nature. But it is still the human nature at its root. If it weren’t religion, it would be culture, borders, race, sex, money, power, control, political affiliation even sports teams. Humans seem to have an unfortunate desire to divide themselves into groups in order to control and oppress the “others” whom they view as less than themselves. Humans seem to love to live vicariously through group think.

Mark Fielding- Pritchard

I’m very much in favour of religions that have no people involved. I can’t believe any sane deity for instance would want people who live in a desert to take their shoes off when they come into church.

Eoin Maloney

Are you kidding me? Would you rather they tracked sand and dirt in? Criminy. If I was a deity, my FIRST rule would be “take off your shoes, somebody has to clean that floor!” The second would probably be something about murder, I guess. I dunno. Maybe I’ll make it heretical to kick the shit out of gay people for being gay, or something. But definitely, commandment 1: take your damned shoes off.

Mark Fielding- Pritchard

Maybe. Don’t forget chocolate though, chocolate offerings.

Holy Bathroom Attendant

They gotta wash their hands, too. And no skipping scrubbing under the fingernails, either!

aikanae

Religon isn’t just about the afterlife. It’s about guilt too and has a long history of being used to rationalized questionable behaviors. So I don’t accept “it’s human nature” or the need to be relieved from guilt wouldn’t exist. For some, religion is addictive like alcohol or crack.

Robyn Pratt Scott

No one was burned as a result of the Salem witch trials – hung, crushed to death, and died in prison – but, no burning.

John Staller

Oh, well then, nevermind.

Michael McAngus

“…how would one justify a stance against homosexuality without using religion?”
“It’s icky!!!” Duh.

sherry06053

Oh, I completely agree with you. Religion is silly and dangerous, but I think John Lennon beat you to this story…Imagine…that’s the point…it exists and there is nothing we can do about it other than wait for all the believers to kill each other in the name of their God. Then, the rest of us can live in peace and brotherhood – and try to fix the mess the human race has made of this planet. It won’t happen in our lifetime, so I guess I’ll see ya in hell…

Tena Dodds Waters

I LOVE this article. It simply states everything I have ever thought about organized religion. People don’t need to believe in a god to be good people. Look at all the harm past and present that has/is being done this very second in the name of religion. It sickens me to the core what human beings have done to this planet and to each other. I wish all people would start catching on to the universal consciousness that exists between all of us and realize that we are not separate but ONE.

healthnut

“…there is nothing we can do about it other than wait for all the believers to kill each other in the name of their God. Then, the rest of us can live in peace and brotherhood – and try to fix the mess the human race has made of this planet.”
Yes, that is the most likely scenario considering the endless wars between Islam and Judeo-Christianity. If only they could kill each other off without destroying the Earth in the process! Some sort of mass round-up into a large cage should contain their delusional violence quite nicely without contaminating their surroundings and non-believers who become bystander casualties.

Noqo

Not all religions operate the same way though. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam certainly focus on aggression, preach intolerance, practice discrimination, and support inhuman acts. There’s no denying that. What about the Buddhists, Jains, or Baha’i, the Sufi and Sikhs, those who practice Wicca or some other form of modern Paganism though? As a Westerner, I too am often swept up and enraged by the actions of the monotheistic faiths. When I have a moment to sit back and relax though, I am reminded that Jews, Christians, and Muslims aren’t the only believers in the world, and they aren’t the only people adhering to, or practicing, a religion. You’re confusing the forest with the tree here. Three bad trees, with a thousand individual limbs, does not make the entire stretch of land worthless. You simply cut down the bad trees, and watch beauty return.

aikanae

Try explaining that to the Palestine’s trapped in the Gaza strip or Kurds fleeing up to the top of the hill, or to missing girls that were kidnapped. If your the victim, it doesn’t matter that millions of others aren’t the same since they do nothing to stop it. That does make them the same.

Steve Dingeldein

How did you miss the millions killed by atheistic governments in the last century? Mao, Stalin . . .

Humans always find ways to divide us and them, whether it is religion or other characteristics.

You also ignored the enormous good that has resulted from religion over the last millennium or so.

Noqo

You’re confusing atheism with a political platform. The people killed by Stalin and Mao weren’t killed “because there is no God,” they were killed in the name of cultural identities that their sick and twisted rulers were absorbed in. Unlike the Crusades, which were waged specifically because of a religious ideal and disagreement over who owned the Holy Land. Or the Inquisition, which killed people specifically because they practiced a different religion. The only thing atheism influences is your view on whether or not there is enough evidence to support the existence of a God or gods. Absolutely everything else, from your favorite foods, to the car you drive, to whether or not you kill one-quarter of your country’s citizens, has nothing to do with whether you believe in God or not.

Steve Dingeldein

All “isms” require a political platform to kill. Atheism was CLEARLY part of the “cultural identity” of Mao and Stalin.

biloki

Do you actually believe that Mao and Stalin killed in the name of Atheism?? No, they didn’t. They killed for power and wealth. Greed, is what they killed for.

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and I also enter that they did it for a sick type of fun

Raven Cassidy

GREED IS A RELIGION IN ITSELF!!!!!

Brian

Your argument is impossible to prove, thus invalid.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

plenty of death and destruction under religious regimes. BOTH cause problems; ergo BOTH should be destroyed. if an individual has beliefs that’s fine. once an individual/ group wants to impose any belief upon others we have aproblem- even with so-called ‘ good intent”……….keep religious opinions to individual self…. if I am interested I will seek thee
=======================================
F*CK all religions. NOTE: im agnostic- which means I dint know what GOD is; and I don’t care as GOD will do as GOD wants without my BEGGING ( see: prayer)

TheEquilizer2U

You are ignorant of basic history!

The Crusades started because of the muslims invading europe.
They occupied Spain for several hundred years, killing all the christians.
Then they tried to push north into France and Germany, but they were stopped.
After many years of this, the Crusades were formed, and the muslims were pushed out of Europe.

Get educated before spouting off…..

Bill Herman

No miss, it was still about religion, Mao, Stalin, etc demanded their subjects to NOT believe, or else.

Steve Dingeldein

Well you’ve universalized religion to belief about anything including the belief that that there is no God. That’s a bit wide for useful conversation as it is virtually impossible to NOT have a world view or belief system.
However, I will agree with you that Atheism functions as a belief system and people will become AS impassioned about NOT believing in God as they do about believing in God.

biloki

Atheism, is a belief system. If is the opposite of a belief system. Why do religious people always try to pretend that Atheism is some form of religion, it isn’t.

surfjac

Atheism is not a belief for atheists; it is a certainty for them.

Bill Herman

Where do I say there is no God is a religious belief?
Let me be quite clear, there are many beliefs but I have never heard of atheism being a religious belief.
If any label, it is anti god.
He/she/it/whatever is nothing more than a fictitious character invented by man, a very long time ago, as an acceptance of that which may not be explainable based mainly on fear and faith.
Since that long ago time many things once thought unexplainable have now been explained through science.
Bur religions often try to dispute scientific proofs and in many ways they then manage to sound stupid.

aikanae

Religion requires faith and to have faith, a person must suspend critical reasoning and logic. That doesn’t happen with atheist’s.

Bill Herman

Thank you, you have just said what a lot of intelligent people believe, that religion is not logical.

surfjac

You can’t conflate religion which assumes the belief of a diety and celebrates that belief with rituals and specific patterns of behavior to honor that diety with atheism which states there is no diety.

Nerdsamwich

I would characterize the Mao and Stalin regimes as cults of personality, though not quite up to the level of the Kims of North Korea. No, “personality” is the wrong word here. More like cults of the State. Remember the Soviet motto: God is the State; the State is God.

Bill Herman

What about the Christians, Jews, etc that both Mao and Stalin did their best to wipe out. Stalin at the beginning of WW II had a pact with Hitler both wanted the Jewish eliminated.
I don’t consider their beliefs were part of a cult belief.
Stalin did not believe in God he used that quote as a point towards those who did and they had better stop or else.

Nerdsamwich

Competition. The cult of the State, like other cults, dislikes having to compete with other ideas. Therefore, the cult of the State, like other cults, flexes what muscle it has to destroy that competition. There is no difference in kind between the Inquisition, the Crusades, the Holocaust, and the Soviet pogroms. Notice, too, that both Stalin and Mao persecuted non-religious ideas, as well. Ideas that conflicted with the dogma of the cult of the State.

Bill Herman

Basically what all political entities do, be they nice, evil or somewhere in between is to gain power and keep it. With power comes economic gain as well.
Before religion and money it was about survival which evolved into economics, politics and religion.
The ones who become leaders all have some excuse that they use to convince people that they should be in charge, many of course throughout history have used religion.
One good example:
Anyone who thinks the Crusades were for Christianity vs Islam have no clue of why they actually occurred.
“We want what you have and because you won’t give it to us freely, god has spoken and told us we should take it away from you in his name. It says so in the . . . ” You may add the quaran, bible, or some comic book here.
In the end it’s all about power and money not religion.

aikanae

Manifest destiny.

aikanae

Mao and Stalin were wannabe deity’s. They wanted people to believe in them, first.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

the so-called GOOD is another way to control humans. if the religions are so charitable; let them give charity ANONYMOUSLY and with no string attached

aikanae

No tax cuts?

John Staller

When you are using the name of “god” to justify the terror you bring down on the world, and you don’t even know if you are right about the existence of “god”–pretty much any good you do is negated. Especially if you perform that good mostly, only because you think it’ll get you to heaven. In the end, though,religion has been the most destructive force on the planet in history.

Rebecca Kleitz

I wish I could “like” your comment a million times.
I try to explain this to the people that come to my door to try and “save” me, but they really, honestly, do NOT comprehend doing something good JUST TO DO SOMETHING GOOD.
“How do you know right from wrong without Jesus/God in your heart?”
Are you fucking kidding me?

aikanae

“Especially if you perform that good mostly, only because you think it’ll get you to heaven.”

Winter solstice – the days get longer again. There’s a good chance, IMO, that people would naturally celebrate the second half of winter passing similar to a mid-winter “hump day”. Maybe we should do “Christmas” every Wednesday?

AlienFactor

“Tripping the Rift” Season 1 Episode 1 – “God is my pilot”. The crew go back to the beginning of time and accidentally kill God – and return to a utopian future without religion, hate, or crime.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

……….and:::: and ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; NO CHRISTMAS ???
are U insane?? :))

Kerplactus

Yes, it would then be called Winter Solstice or Winter Shopping Orgy month.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

if U dared call it that sarah palin will be camped in front of your place….calling U a secular Kenyan commie white-hating socialist martian muslim

andrew mladinich

lol

decreator

Lol

allinfun

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” —–American physicist Steven Weinberg

Matthew Reece

Now, take all of the above reasoning and apply it to government, realizing that most of the above crimes would be nearly impossible without the assistance of rulers. A glimpse of an anarchist world suddenly becomes much less fearful.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

matt,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that theory is nearly pristine: the application OF that is impossible as we as a planet have our instincts which drive us all; from protozoans to humans: we want to succeed and don’t care about others. witness ant colonies; just a big government

Bill Herman

Religion has been used to justify all the many wars throughout history. It has never really justified anything but being an excuse to try and gain power and economic assets at the expense of the opposing side(s).
This even goes on with sports teams. Two football teams on the field before the kickoff, both kneeling and praying for victory to the same god. LOL

j p

it is comical that those blaming religion for the world’s ills never point out the lives saved by religious people and their charity. they also never want to discuss the far more people killed by secular humanist institutions.

Nerdsamwich

Oh, yeah, totally. The Southern Poverty Law Center is just one big atrocity mill.

Eoin Maloney

And don’t get me started on Dudeists. Woof, a bunch of preachy Hitlers.

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shall we weigh out the deaths and disfigurements by religion over the eons VS the ” charity” done by religion??? probably 75% of the so-called charity is done with the anchor of making the recipient OF that charity listen to/read/ do what the religion wants. that’s not charity– that’s control. Charity in its purest form is not hand cuffed; it is anonymous in application

freethinker666

Read up on the Irish Laundries, and then get back to me.

2Smart2bGOP

My belief, and I don’t inflict it upon anyone, is that God created the divine spark that would eventually become Man. Man then created God in Man’s own image, and invented religion in order to keep his fellow man frightened, easily manipulated, and easily controlled. God has nothing to do with religion.

giankeys luvs shemale porn

100% correct. GOD simply is what is–

Jeremy Noyes

Regardless of your belief system everyone should at least agree that the premise of religion is based on what happens to us when we die and then we should all agree that nobody knows jack shit about the “Afterlife”

merryprankster

The premise for this article is all wrong. The reason for all horrific things that happen on the name of religion isn’t due to the religions, it’s due to the people. A world without religion will simply be a world were people use something else as an excuse for their atrocities. The problem with humanity isn’t the systems, it’s the people themselves. If we want a better world we need to become a better species, not blame it on our systems and endlessly try to change them.

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hey idiot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, as religion has ONLY humans as religions agents Ur rhetoric is proven false. the history of ALL religions is fraught with destruction. I agree with bettering us as a species; however religion doesn’t do this. any (??) benefits is rudely offset by the control exerted BY religious zealots and leaders. Theory cannot be reality with wild cards such as what animals do to each other– from protozoans to humans we all are guilty and this may minimalize but never change– its in our DNA

Anthony Clifton

Allen Clifton. A few points:

By your own definition of what a religion is, liberalism, communism and every other ideology would also be religions. You’re essentially arguing that nobody should ever suggest that society can be improved… which you yourself seem to be doing.

You also butcher historical reality, implying a greater role of religion in things like the holocaust and “forgetting” to factor in the positive role religion played in all of those events. In fact, you seem to “forget” every positive thing that religion has contributed to society.

You ham-handedly lump all religions together as if they are all the same. It’s like saying that we need a world without any kind of ideology. The differences of what people stand for matters. When you criticize individuals who did things that are not supported by their religion at large, you aren’t even making an effective critique of that religion, let alone ALL religions.

Frankly, your conclusion that a world without organized religion would be this improved utopia of everyone being united and happy is laughable. You seriously believe that people do not have bad, abusive intentions without religion? You seriously believe that religious people, contributing by far the most charity in the world, are a net negative force toward unity and helping others?

freethinker666

“In fact, you seem to “forget” every positive thing that religion has contributed to society. Name three,

Jonathan Kline

Christmas, Easter, and Hanukkah. Now, as to which religion we have to thank for that, idk.

Anthony Clifton

1) Canon law, the foundation for our legal system.
2) Massive amounts of charity in terms of money, time and blood.
3) The concept of international law.

aikanae

1) May have contributed to that type of law, but there’s a good chance people would organize some system naturally.
2) Massive amounts of charity? Is that how religions become so wealthy and powerful. On the contrary, most religions have some rational for “giving to get” (usually promises of an afterlife).
3) See 1.

Anthony Clifton

1) Except that is not what happened. Therefore it is 100% accurate to point to this as an example of a positive contribution to society.

2) You are seriously denying that charity is a good thing for society?

3) See 1.

dittoheadadt

What a stupid argument, to conflate Christianity and Islam. The Crusades occurred nearly a thousand years ago, radical Islam is a cancer on civilization TODAY. One religion evolved and advanced; the other is still stuck in the Dark Ages. Other than that, your argument is sound.

NOT.

Rob Bailey

Christianity and Islam are the same thing; the texts match up almost perfectly. Biggest difference – the more Conservative version (Islam) has resulted in more oppression and stricter adherence to the stories.

Caroline Reznicek

I have to agree with Allen Clifton’s article in it’s entirety. Well said and well thought out version of what I have been saying for years and years. My favorite songs have stated the same things. John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter’s “One Tim Soldier”. Of course both have been blindly demonized by so called “Christians” since they were written in the 1960′s. Thanks for this great article, Allen Clifton!

freethinker666

From what I’ve read, the crusades and Inquisitions resulted in the deaths of tens of millions.

Secular_Humanist

Some of my friends claim to be Christians. When the “need” arrises, I ask what Jesus said in the “Sermon of the Mound?” The resulting blank stares I get are priceless; all ranting stops right then and there.

Jonathan Kline

You’d probably get a better response if you asked about the Sermon on the Mount. Not that they’d necessarily know, but you really SHOULD be getting blank stares about the Sermon on the Mound.

Scott Cornett

“Imagine” – John Lennon

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

jim

“All the horrors that have been (and continue to be) justified in the name of religion – would have never existed” talk about assuming facts not in evidence. Stalin did not do his mass murders in the name of religion & neither did the communist chinese. People have been killing each other for a lot of different reasons/excuses since the beginning of time. Sometimes they use religion as their reason/excuse – sometimes they use tribalism. Lots of times it’s been over politics, real estate, racism & a lot of the time it’s just for the hell of it because human beings can be really mean bastards.
Quit trying to find things to blame and just put the blame where it belongs – individuals take actions – horrible results ensue.

Doonerbandit

I’d love to see a follow up article to this titled imagine the world without extreme political ideologies. Imagine that no world wars no Spanish civil war no Korean war or Vietnam war. Imagine a congress getting shit done.

Frederick Jaxheimer

Okay, I’m am imagining the World without it. Yes, no Lutheran World Relief, which reached out to help 7,759,262 people in 35 countries last year alone. No Diakon Social Services ( programs annually serve between 50,000 and 60,000 people in Pennsylvania & MD), No Catholic Charities , no Salvation Army, no YMCA, & no Christian Appalachian Project, all were launched and have been sustained by the organized Church. No pastors or priests on staff to comfort those that mourn or are hospitalized. – yes there are people that want the government to be the provider for everyone’s every need, but how is that working for them? The Church can see a need and take action .. – say give a man a coat… the government first must check and see if the man was already given a coat before, and is there another person in his town that needs one more based on some law or program policy. Does this man meet ALL the requirements for that entitlement? The poor guy might live in the wrong County or State to get his entitlement from this particular distribution center – we have regulations you know. (I have witnessed this happen in Kentucky with respect to Gov assisted or sponsored Food pantries). Before the poor man freezes to death waiting, let the Church (the organized faithful) just give the man a coat !! .. no one needs to ask if he sold his previous coat, was careless and lost his coat or if he moved up here from Florida. There does not have to be a search for another person in greater need…for the Church is a ministry and does true charity. In disaster response, it is the Church that gets to the scene and does ministry and provides care long before private industry or government agencies get there. Why? Because the Church is a movement and it is staged everywhere and only its detractors claim it is bad to be organized or have elements of an institution. I think that “Organized” corporations must be bad, and “Organized government” is also bad.. it must be based on the logic that organized religion is bad. It is not a pretty sight, this glimpse of a world without the organized Church. There would be no Food Pantry in my neighborhood because it is established and maintained by the volunteers and donations of the local 10 Christian Congregations. I’m seeing a country and a world where we must rely on private sector corporations, civic clubs and/or the Government to be the provider, protector and minister to every need. Imagining that is a horrid nightmare. .

Erin Anderson

We didn’t invade Iraq because of Religion, we did it to protect the Petro-dollar and to take control of the Iraqi oil fields.